Available online at www.sciencedirect.

com
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
ScienceDirect
Available ScienceDirect
online atonline
Available www.sciencedirect.com
at www.sciencedirect.com
Procedia CIRP 00 (2022) 000–000

ScienceDirect
Procedia CIRP 00 (2022) 000–000
ScienceDirect
www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia
www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia

Procedia Procedia
CIRP 00 CIRP
(2017)105
000–000
(2022) 589–594
www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia

29th CIRP Life Cycle Engineering Conference

29th CIRP Life Cycle Engineering Conference
Magnesium Life Cycle in Automotive Industry
Magnesium LifeConference,
28th CIRP Design Cycle inMay
Automotive
2018, Nantes,Industry
France
Saeed Rahimpour Golroudbarya,a,*, Iryna Makaravabb, Eveliina Repobb, Andrzej Kraslawskia,a, cc, Pasi
ASaeed
newddRahimpour
Luukka methodology to analyze
Golroudbary the functional
*, Iryna Makarava and
, Eveliina physical
Repo , Andrzejarchitecture
Kraslawski , Pasi of
Luukka
existing
Schoolproducts for Industrial
of Engineering Science,
a an assembly oriented
Engineering and Management (IEM),product
LUT University, family identification
FI-53851 Lappeenranta, Finland.
SchoolbSchool
a
of Engineering Science,
of Engineering Industrial
Science, Engineering
Department and Management
of Separation Science,(IEM), LUT University,
LUT University, FI-53851
FI-53850 Lappeenranta,
Lappeenranta, Finland.
Finland.
c
Faculty
b
of Process
School and Environmental
of Engineering Engineering,
Science, Department Lodz University
of Separation of Technology,
Science, ul. Wolczanska
LUT University, 213, 90-924 Lodz,
FI-53850 Lappeenranta, Poland.
Finland.
c d
Faculty of School
Process Paul Stief *, Jean-Yves Dantan, Alain Etienne, Ali Siadat
of and
Business and Management,
Environmental Lappeenranta-Lahti
Engineering, Lodz UniversityUniversity of Technology,
of Technology, Lappeenranta,
ul. Wolczanska Finland
213, 90-924 Lodz, Poland.
d
School of Business and Management, Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology, Lappeenranta, Finland
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +358-503595678. E-mail address: [email protected]
École Nationale Supérieure d’Arts et Métiers, Arts et Métiers ParisTech, LCFC EA 4495, 4 Rue Augustin Fresnel, Metz 57078, France
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +358-503595678. E-mail address: [email protected]
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +33 3 87 37 54 30; E-mail address: [email protected]

Abstract
Abstract
Abstract
The transportation sector is responsible for the largest share (29% in 2019) of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). One of the ways to reduce this
The
sharetransportation sector is responsible
consists in introducing lightweightfor the largest
vehicles share
in order (29% in 2019)
to diminish of greenhouse
fuel consumption, gasinemissions
and, consequence,(GHG).GHG One of the ways
emissions. to reduce(Mg)
Magnesium this
Inshare
carriesconsists
today’s in introducing
business
considerable potentiallightweight
environment, as the trendvehicles
a lightweighttowards inmore
ordertoproduct
material tobediminish in fuel
usedvariety consumption,
and
automotivecustomizationand,e.g.,
industry, isinunbroken.
consequence, DueGHG
in gearboxes, to emissions.
this
front and IPMagnesium
development,
end the need
beams, (Mg)
of
steering
carries
agile andconsiderable
column reconfigurable
and potential
driver’s airbag as a lightweight
production
housings, systems
steeringemergedmaterial
wheels, to to
seat be used
cope withand
frames in automotive
various industry,
products
fuel tank covers.and e.g.,savings
product
Weight infamilies.
gearboxes,
To front
resulting fromend
design andand
the IP
of beams,
optimize
use steering
Mg production
could reach
column
systems
up to 70% and
as ofdriver’s
well to airbag
choosehousings,
theasconventional the optimal
parts. steering
product
However, wheels, seat
matches,
energy frames
product
consumption and fuel
analysis
and tank covers.
methods
emissions from Weight
are savings
needed.
magnesium resulting
Indeed,
primarymost from
of thethe
production usehigher
known
are ofmethods
Mgthancould reach
aim
for to
steel
up
andtoaluminum.
analyze 70% of theTherefore,
a product conventional
or one product parts.
enhancing
family However,
magnesium energy
on the physical consumption
recycling
level. would beand
Different emissions
vital
product from however,
for families,
ensuring magnesium
its sustainable
may primary production
use. This
differ study
largely are higher
assesses
in terms thethan
of the life for
number steel
cycle
andof
and
nature aluminum.
magnesium Therefore,
extracted
of components. Thisenhancing
from end-of-life
fact impedes magnesium
products. recycling
Using
an efficient systemwould
comparison be vital
dynamics
and for of
modelling,
choice ensuring its sustainable
we quantify
appropriate use. This
the potential
product family study assesses
environmental
combinations for the
benefits life
theand cycle of
examine
production
magnesium
aspectsArelated
system. newextracted
methodologyfrom end-of-life
to circularity isof
proposed products.
magnesium to analyze Using
to be usedsystem
in the
existing dynamics in modelling,
automotive
products view industry.weEnergy
of their quantify
functional the
andpotential
consumption, environmental
water
physical benefits
use and related
architecture. The and
is toexamine
aimemissions are
cluster
aspects
assessed
these related
products in to
in processes
newcircularity
assembly oforiented
of functional magnesium
(recovered
product toMgbereused
used for
families in
in the automotive
thevehicle industry.
manufacturing
optimization Energy
processes)
of existing consumption,
assembly and water
non-functional
lines and the use and related
(recovered
creation of futureMg emissions
as an element
reconfigurable are
assessed
assembly in processes
used in aluminum
systems. Basedof functional
alloys) on Datum(recovered
recycling as well
Flow as Mg
Chain, reused
casting
the andinmolding.
physical thestructure
vehicle manufacturing
Obtained
of the results
products processes)
show that theand
is analyzed. non-functional
implementation
Functional of(recovered Mg
circular economy
subassemblies are as anstrategies
element
identified, and
a used
may in aluminum
help
functional inanalysis alloys)
increasing therecycling asmagnesium
well as casting
supply ofMoreover,
is performed. fromand
a hybrid the molding.
automotive
functional Obtained
and industry
physicalresults
to show
uparchitecturethatgraph
0.70 million thetonnes
implementation
(mt) in is
(HyFPAG) of
thecircular
2050. As shown
output economy
whichby the strategies
analysis,
depicts the
may
43% help
of in
total increasing
energy the supply
consumption of
and magnesium
water use from
at the the automotive
global Mg industry
recycling up
stage to
in 0.70
2050 million tonnes
corresponds
similarity between product families by providing design support to both, production system planners and product designers. An illustrative to(mt) in 2050.
non-functional As shown
casting by
and the analysis,
molding in
43% of of
automotive
example total energy consumption
a industry,
nail-clipperfollowed and watertheuse
is usedbytonon-functional
explain at the global
recycling
proposed Mg recycling
(11%),
methodology. functional stage in 2050
casting
An industrial and corresponds
casemolding
study twoto
on(7%) andnon-functional
functional
product families casting
recycling
of andcolumns
(2%).
steering molding
Also, itofin
is
automotivethat
estimated
thyssenkrupp industry,
Presta followed
the existing
France is by non-functional
technologies
then carriedinout recycling
functional
to give aand (11%), functional
firstnon-functional
industrial Mg casting
evaluation and
recycling
of the inmolding
automotive
proposed (7%)industry
and functional
approach. recycling
contribute (2%). Also,
to the global warmingit is
estimated
©with
2017anThe that
emission theofexisting
Authors. 5.62 technologies
and
Published 29.66 mt ofinCO
by Elsevier functional and non-functional
2 eq. in 2050,
B.V. respectively. Mg recycling in automotive industry contribute to the global warming
with an emission of 5.62 and 29.66 mt of CO eq. in 2050, respectively.
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 28th CIRP Design Conference 2018.
2

© 2022
© 2022The TheAuthors.
Authors. Published
Published by ELSEVIER
by Elsevier B.V. B.V.
©
This2022
is
Keywords: an The
open Authors.
access
Assembly; Published
article
Design under
method; by
the
Family
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND ELSEVIER
CC BY-NC-ND
identificationB.V. license
license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0)
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0)
This is an open
Peer-review
Peer-review underaccess
under article under
responsibility
responsibility ofofthe CC BY-NC-ND
thescientific
scientific committee
committee license
of the (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0)
of the 29th
29th CIRPCIRP
LifeLife Cycle
Cycle Engineering
Engineering Conference
Conference.
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 29th CIRP Life Cycle Engineering Conference
Keywords: Critical materials; Circular economy; Environmental sustainability; Dynamic modelling
1.Keywords:
Introduction
Critical materials; Circular economy; Environmental sustainability; Dynamic of themodelling
product range and characteristics manufactured and/or
assembled in this system. In this context, the main challenge in
Due to the fast development in the domain of modelling and analysis is now not only to cope with single
1. Introductionand an ongoing trend of digitization and
communication report [2],a limited
products, magnesium is used
product rangemainly in automotive
or existing industry
product families,
1. Introduction report
(44%), [2], magnesium
packaging (19%),is used mainly in
construction automotive
(12%), industry
desulfurization
digitalization, manufacturing enterprises are facing important but also to be able to analyze and to compare products to define
Magnesium (Mg) ismarket the eighth most abundant element new (44%),
(11%), packaging (19%), construction
transportation (12%), desulfurization
challenges in today’s environments: a continuing product families. It including air transport,
can be observed maritime
that classical and
existing
Magnesium
available (2.7% (Mg)
of is thecrust).
earth's eighthDue mostto abundant
its relativelyelement
high (11%),
railway transportation
transport (4%), including
and air applications
other transport, maritime
(10%). and
The
tendency towards reduction of product development times and product families are regrouped in function of clients or features.
available
supply risk (2.7% andof earth's crust).
economic Due to its
importance relatively high railway
major usetransport
of Mg in (4%), and otherindustry,
applications (10%). The
shortened product lifecycles. In addition, theremagnesium
is an increasing was However, assembly the automotive
oriented product families where it is used
are hardly to find.as
supply
identified risk
as aand economic
critical material importance
by the EU magnesium Top
Commission. was major
the use ofamong
lightest Mg in structural
the automotive industry,
metals (one-thirdwhere itdense
less is usedthanas
demand of customization, being at the same time in a global On the product family level, products differ mainly in two
identified
producers as of amagnesium
critical material
from by the EU Commission. Top the lightest (Al)),
amongcanstructural metals (one-third less dense than
competition with competitors all primary
over thesources
world. in This2019 are main
trend, aluminum
characteristics: (i)be
theexplained
number ofbycomponents
high specificandstrength
(ii) the
producers
China (970 of magnesium
kilotonnes from
(kt)), Russia primary
(67 sources
kt), Kazakhstanin 2019(25 are
kt), aluminum
making Mg (Al)), can beuseful
particularly explained
for theby high specific
production of strength
lightweight
which is inducing the development from macro to micro type of components (e.g. mechanical, electrical, electronical).
China (970(21
and Israel kilotonnesAccording
(kt)), Russia (67European
kt), Kazakhstan (25 kt), making Mg particularly useful for the production of lightweight
markets, resultskt)in[1].
diminished lot to the
sizes due toCommission’s
augmenting cars.
Classical methodologies considering mainly single products
and Israel (21 kt) [1]. According to the European Commission’s cars.
product varieties (high-volume to low-volume production) [1]. or solitary, already existing product families analyze the
To cope with
2212-8271 thisThe
© 2022 augmenting variety by
Authors. Published as ELSEVIER
well as to be able to
B.V. product structure on a physical level (components level) which
identify
2212-8271 possible
© 2022
This is an open accessTheoptimization
Authors.
article potentials
under Published
the CC in
by ELSEVIER
BY-NC-ND the
licenseB.V. existing causes difficulties regarding an efficient definition and
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0)
This is an open
Peer-review
production access
under
system, article under
responsibility CCtoBY-NC-ND
of the scientific
it is important license
havecommittee
a precise (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0)
of the 29th CIRP Life comparison
knowledge Cycle Engineering
of Conference
different product families. Addressing this
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 29th CIRP Life Cycle Engineering Conference
2212-8271 © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
This is an©open
2212-8271 2017access article Published
The Authors. under theby CC BY-NC-ND
Elsevier B.V. license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0)
Peer-reviewunder
Peer-review under responsibility
responsibility of the
of the scientific
scientific committee
committee of28th
of the the CIRP
29th CIRP
DesignLife Cycle Engineering
Conference 2018. Conference.
10.1016/j.procir.2022.02.098
590 Saeed Rahimpour Golroudbary et al. / Procedia CIRP 105 (2022) 589–594
Author name / Procedia CIRP 00 (2022) 000–000 2

Global demand for Mg has been increasing rapidly, • B1 loop includes Manufactured semi-finished
particularly for the die casting sector (6.8% increase) and Al products and Manufacturing demand
alloys (4.1% increase) [2]. The major reason for this growth is • B2 loop includes Use in transportation sector and
the increasingly severe regulations on emissions from vehicles Market demand
and rising cost of petrol. Vehicles account on average for 90% • B3 loop includes Manufactured semi-finished
of energy consumption in their life cycle during the exploitation products, Use in transportation sector, Market
phase. The European Parliament and the Council adopted a demand, and Manufacturing demand
Regulation on CO2 emissions in the automotive sector (EU • B4 loop includes Manufactured semi-finished
Regulation 443/2009) and mandatory driving cycle CO 2 products, Use in transportation sector, Collection of
emission performance standards for new passenger cars. waste containing Mg, Functional recycling, Recovery
According to this Regulation, a target of 95 g CO2/km has been of magnesium, Primary magnesium production, and
set for EU 2020/21 (possibly 10 g CO2/km in 2050) [3]. As a Processed magnesium
result, car manufacturers need to improve fuel efficiency of • B5 loop includes Manufactured semi-finished
vehicles. One solution is to make them lighter and a way to products, Use in transportation sector, Collection of
achieve this goal is to use more magnesium [4]. waste containing Mg, Non functional recycling,
Considering the increasing amounts of magnesium used in Recovery of magnesium, Primary magnesium
car manufacturing as structural metal that reduces vehicle production, and Processed magnesium
weight, fuel consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions • R1 loop includes Manufactured semi-finished
(GHG) [5], recycling end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) to recover products, Use in transportation sector, Collection of
waste containing Mg, Functional recycling, and
Mg becomes a very relevant step in the automotive industry.
Recovery of magnesium
Also, if secondary ingots and Mg alloys could be used as die
• R2 loop includes Manufactured semi-finished
cast products for vehicles, similar to aluminum, an additional
products, Use in transportation sector, Collection of
reduction of CO2 could be possible [6].
waste containing Mg, Non functional recycling, and
Most magnesium is produced in China. Its processing and
Recovery of magnesium
primary production are very energy-intensive and generate
large amounts of GHG emissions, which may offset the Dolomite mineral
potential advantage of using Mg parts in automobiles [7]. +
Manufacturing Market
Magnesite mineral demand
Therefore, circular economy of magnesium could significantly -
demand -
Seawater and brines B3
contribute to the reduction of energy and water consumption Carnallite B1 + B2
and mitigate energy-related emissions compared to primary +
+
Processed Manufactured + Use in
production. magnesium semi-finished transportation sector
+
The main objective of this paper is to present a dynamic + products R1
++ ++ B4 Functional +
model of the magnesium supply chain with a focus on Primary magnesium +
+ recycling
automotive industry, to perform environmental sustainability production Recovery of Collection of waste
- magnesium B5 R2 containing Mg
assessment for Mg recycling in line with circular economy +
Non functional +
concept. Therefore, this study attempts to assist in recycling
understanding to what extent Mg recycling contributes to its
Fig 1. Causal loop diagram of supply chain of magnesium
sustainable use from environmental standpoints.
Magnesium flows are analyzed from the mining stage to
2. Materials and Methods track the primary Mg metal in automotive industry. Primary
magnesium is mainly extracted from minerals such as
In this study, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) dolomite, magnesite and carnallite (respectively 47%, 19% and
[1], European Commission [2], GREET-2020 software [8], 13% of magnesium oxide output), as well as seawater and brine
Statista database [9], and other studies [10], [11] are used as the (21% of global Mg) [12]. Primary Mg principally used for
primary data sources. casting in the automotive industry accounts for 55% of its
The system considered in this study focuses on the complex consumption. Aluminum-based alloys used in the same
interrelations among several stages such as mining, processing, industry for similar applications account for 28%.
manufacturing, and recycling to assess the circularity of Primary metallic magnesium is produced by using two
magnesium. The causal loop diagram (CLD) by using the processes, i.e. thermal reduction and electrolysis [13]. China
principles of system dynamics modelling is depicted in Fig. 1. whose share in the Mg market in 2019 was 85.7% uses thermal
The CLD helps to identify the key variables that affect system reduction method, the so called Pidgeon process. Other large
and their interactions with each other. Next to the arrowhead, producers of Mg such as Russia (7.0%), Israel (3.9%),
the positive (+) or negative (-) signs show if the linked Kazakhstan (2.8%), Ukraine (0.3%) use the electrolytic
components change in the same or reverse direction. It can be process. The USA having 6.3% share in the Mg market and
seen from Fig. 1 that two types of loops exist in this system Canada (1.1%) use both thermal reduction and electrolytic
including balancing (B) and reinforcing (R). The model shows processes [7].
that there are five balancing loops and two reinforcing loops as
follows:
 Author name / Procedia CIRP 00 (2022) 000–000 3
Saeed Rahimpour Golroudbary et al. / Procedia CIRP 105 (2022) 589–594 591

Table1. Equations of dynamics model for mass flow of magnesium in automotive industry.
Equations Description Type Unit
𝒕𝒕
𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑤𝑤 (𝑡𝑡) is the cumulative amount of global primary Stock Tonnes
𝑴𝑴𝑴𝑴𝒘𝒘 (𝒕𝒕) = ∫ ( 𝑴𝑴𝒊𝒊 (𝒕𝒕) − 𝑵𝑵𝒋𝒋 (𝒕𝒕)) 𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 + 𝑴𝑴𝑴𝑴𝒘𝒘 (𝒕𝒕𝟎𝟎 ) magnesium in the mining stage in year t. 𝑡𝑡0 is an initial
𝒕𝒕𝟎𝟎 time.
𝟐𝟐 𝑀𝑀𝑖𝑖 (𝑡𝑡) is the annual rate of extracted Mg. 𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑖 is the rate of Flow Tonnes
𝑴𝑴𝒊𝒊 (𝒕𝒕) = ∑ 𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒊 × 𝜶𝜶𝒊𝒊 processing i (i=1,2) including minerals and seawater or
𝒊𝒊=𝟏𝟏 brines. 𝛼𝛼𝑖𝑖 is the conversion factor of each process.
𝟐𝟐 𝑁𝑁𝑗𝑗 (𝑡𝑡) corresponds to the annual rate of magnesium Flow Tonnes
𝑵𝑵𝒋𝒋 (𝒕𝒕) = ∑ 𝒌𝒌𝒋𝒋 × 𝜷𝜷𝒋𝒋 production. 𝑘𝑘𝑗𝑗 is the rate of production j (j=1,2) including
𝒏𝒏=𝟏𝟏 metallic Mg and Mg alloys. 𝛽𝛽𝑗𝑗 is the conversion factor of
each process.
𝒕𝒕
𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑎𝑎 (𝑡𝑡) is the cumulative amount of Mg used in Stock Tonnes
𝑴𝑴𝑴𝑴𝒂𝒂 (𝒕𝒕) = ∫ ( 𝑵𝑵𝒋𝒋 (𝒕𝒕) − 𝒀𝒀𝒊𝒊 (𝒕𝒕)) 𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 + 𝑴𝑴𝑴𝑴𝒂𝒂 (𝒕𝒕𝟎𝟎 ) automotive industry in year t. 𝑡𝑡0 is an initial time.
𝒕𝒕𝟎𝟎
𝒀𝒀𝒊𝒊 (𝒕𝒕) = Min (𝑴𝑴𝑴𝑴𝒂𝒂 (𝒕𝒕) × 𝑪𝑪𝒊𝒊, 𝑫𝑫𝒊𝒊 ) 𝑌𝑌𝑖𝑖 (𝑡𝑡) is rate of Mg used for vehicle manufacturing. The Flow Tonnes
mathematical function is considered as MIN (A, B), i.e.
minimum of two alternatives. 𝐶𝐶𝑖𝑖 is capacity of using Mg
for car manufacturing. The capacity is defined based on the
consumption of magnesium as lightweight material in
manufacturing of vehicles. 𝐷𝐷𝑖𝑖 represents demand for Mg in
automotive industry. Index i corresponds to Mg metal or
alloy.
𝑾𝑾𝒂𝒂 (𝒕𝒕) = Delay (𝒀𝒀𝒊𝒊 (𝒕𝒕) × 𝒆𝒆, 𝑳𝑳, 0) The function formulates as: Delay (Input, Delay Time, Flow Tonnes
Initial Value). 𝑊𝑊𝑎𝑎 (𝑡𝑡) is collected waste and scrap including
Mg from end-of-life vehicles. 𝑒𝑒 is efficiency of collection
of end-of-life vehicles. 𝐿𝐿 is automobile average lifetime
(average vehicle age).
𝒕𝒕
𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑟𝑟 (𝑡𝑡) is the cumulative amount of recyclable Mg Stock Tonnes
𝑴𝑴𝑴𝑴𝒓𝒓 (𝒕𝒕) = ∫( 𝑾𝑾𝒂𝒂 (𝒕𝒕) − (𝑴𝑴𝑴𝑴𝒓𝒓 (𝒕𝒕) × (𝝔𝝔𝒊𝒊 + 𝜹𝜹𝒊𝒊 + 𝝊𝝊𝒊𝒊 ))𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 collected in automotive industry in year t. 𝜚𝜚𝑖𝑖 is efficiency
𝒕𝒕𝟎𝟎 of the disposal of Mg from transportation sector. 𝛿𝛿𝑖𝑖 is
+ 𝑴𝑴𝑴𝑴𝒓𝒓 (𝒕𝒕𝟎𝟎 ) efficiency of functional recycling of Mg in automotive
industry. 𝜐𝜐𝑖𝑖 is efficiency of non-functional recycling of Mg
in automotive industry.

Secondary magnesium can be obtained from pre- and post-

consumer scrap. Pre-consumer scrap arises from
manufacturing process in the form of chips and discards or as
scrap during the production of components [14]. Post-
consumer scrap comes from end-of-life cars after they have
been dismantled and their parts were sold in the secondary
market.
Table 1 provides the variables developed for calculating the
stock and flow of magnesium for automotive industry from
mining to recycling. The world production of primary
magnesium which their historical data is available by USGS in
the period (1990-2018) [1] is considered in order to calculate
the uncertainty of the model and its validity. The average
percentage error of the simulation model is 1% and considering
95% level of confidence the model is valid.

3. Results and discussion

3.1 Trends of generation of magnesium waste and scrap

Standard parts of vehicles made of magnesium alloys can be

found in the instrument panel, support frame, seat frame,
steering wheel core parts, steering wheel frames, cylinder block
heads, transmission cases, clutch housings, lower crank cases, Fig 2. Primary and secondary production of magnesium used in
automotive industry from 2010 to 2050. (a) application of Mg in a vehicle;
intake manifolds, brake and gas pedals. The main applications (b) mass flow of primary and secondary magnesium.
of magnesium alloy in car manufacturing are shown in Fig. 2a.
Using Mg in car manufacturing in applications presented in
592 SaeedAuthor
Rahimpour
name Golroudbary et al.
/ Procedia CIRP 00/ (2022)
Procedia CIRP 105 (2022) 589–594
000–000 4

Fig. 3. Global trade of magnesium waste and scrap in 2020. (a) imports; (b) exports.

Fig. 2a allows to achieve 22% to 70% weight reduction of increased by 4.5%, from USD 1.81 billion to USD 1.89 billion,
components of a vehicle [15]. between 2018 and 2019.
Fig. 2b represents flows of primary and secondary (through The top three exporters of magnesium waste and scrap in
functional and non-functional recycling) magnesium 2020 (Fig. 3a) are New Zealand (26.2 kt in trade worth USD
production consumed by automotive industry and its disposal. 7.4 million), Canada (9.1 kt in trade worth USD 22.1 million),
Functional secondary Mg corresponds to recovered metal China (6.6 kt in trade worth USD 14.1 million). The top
which is reused in the vehicle manufacturing processes, mainly importers of magnesium waste and scrap in 2020 (Fig. 3b) are
within die casting industry to produce lightweight vehicles. the USA (23.8 kt in trade worth USD 55.0 million), the Czech
Non-functional secondary Mg corresponds to recovered Mg as Republic (5.6 kt in trade worth USD 11.5 million), Hungary
an alloy element which is essential for aluminum industry to (3.9 kt in trade worth USD 8.1 million), Germany (3.4 kt in
improve mechanical properties, deformability, and corrosion trade worth USD 4.9 million), Austria (2.3 kt in trade worth
resistance of Al alloy. USD 3.4 million), and Ukraine (1.7 kt in trade worth USD 1.8
The highest amounts of magnesium recovered from the million). The analysis shows that the Czech Republic
automotive industry come from non-functional recycled accounted for 27% of all Mg waste and scrap in Europe in
magnesium (55−80%). To adopt the simulation model in the 2020. Focusing on the automotive industry, Fig. 4 presents the
long-term perspective (2010-2050), one of the most important amount of magnesium waste from vehicles available for
causes which is needed to be considered is the delay recycling in Europe. Data for 30 countries including Austria,
mechanisms of the system. As mathematical function of model Belgium, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Germany,
presented in Table 1, the differences in the flows of non- Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, UK, Greece, Hungary,
functional secondary Mg and the disposal of Mg are mainly
affected by the lifespan of passenger cars which is on average
~10.8 years. For disposal purposes, Mg is usually collected as
dust or sludge and stored in disposal sites or could go through
controlled burning. Projected amount of magnesium in 2050 is
0.59 million tonnes (mt), 0.37 mt and 0.11 mt respectively for
non-functional secondary Mg, Mg disposal and functional
secondary Mg. Also, global amount of primary magnesium
used in the automotive industry is estimated to increase from
0.4 mt in 2010 to 1.1 mt in 2050. Noteworthy, primary
production of magnesium can be associated with higher levels
of waste production when compared to recycling processes.
Therefore, secondary production of magnesium contributes
directly to the achieving of the targets of the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 12 intended to ensure Fig 4. Magnesium waste from automotive industry in
sustainable consumption and production patterns. Europe in 2020.
To analyze the availability of Mg for recycling in line with Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia, Norway, Netherlands, Poland,
circular economy principles, global trade in magnesium waste Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Sweden, Cyprus,
and scrap in 2020 is shown in Fig. 3 (data retrieved from Croatia, Luxembourg, Estonia, and Malta are available and
https://comtrade.un.org/). Trade in magnesium corresponds to analyzed in Europe (data retrieved from
0.01% of total world trade. The exports of magnesium https://comtrade.un.org/). Because of the high economic value
of the scrap recycling process, especially in Europe, global
 Saeed Rahimpour Golroudbary et al. / Procedia CIRP 105 (2022) 589–594 593
Author name / Procedia CIRP 00 (2022) 000–000 5

Fig 5. Global energy consumption for secondary Mg production.

trade imbalances make trade in Mg scrap economically

attractive in this area. Top countries with the highest amount of Fig. 6. Global water use for secondary Mg production.
magnesium waste from vehicles are: Germany (16.7 kt), United
Kingdom (10.1 kt), and France (9.4 kt). Total magnesium scrap intensive compared to the primary production. However, our
findings suggest that there are still substantial environmental
available from the automotive industry in 2020 is estimated
issues involved in recycling activities, especially in the
around 73.8 kt, however, it should be taken into account that
automotive industry, which indicate that the existing
the yield for scrap recycling from the ELVs is approximately
technologies need to be revised and improved.
85–95% while the efficiency of car dismantling is up to 90%
which depends on the separation procedures and on the
composition of the shredder material [16].
3.3 Environmental impact of secondary Mg production

In this study, eleven different pollutants are analyzed for Mg

3.2 Energy consumption and water use for secondary Mg
recycling in automotive industry (Fig. 7). Emissions of carbon
production in automotive industry
dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), sulfur oxides (SOx), nitrogen
oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), volatile organic
This section presents trends in global energy consumption
compounds (VOC), particulate matter of a diameter smaller
(Fig. 5) and global water use (Fig. 6) for secondary Mg
than 2.5 micrometer (PM2.5), nitrous oxide (N 2O), particulate
production focusing on waste and scrap from the automotive
organic carbon (POC), black carbon (BC), and airborne
industry that consumes more than 50% of all produced
magnesium. Two main stages including Mg recycling as well particulate matter smaller than 10 micrometer (PM10) are
as Mg casting and molding are considered for environmental assessed for Mg recycling (Fig. 7 a) and Mg casting and
analysis. molding (Fig. 7 c). Also, we quantify the trend in greenhouse
The results indicate an increase in global energy consumption gas emissions of the functional and non-functional Mg
and water use for Mg recycling from 2010 to 2050. The growth recycling (Fig. 7 b) as well as casting and molding (Fig. 7 d) in
rates in the first decade (2010-2020) increased ca. 7 times, 11 automotive industry compared to global Mg recycling.
times and 14 times for global Mg recycling, non-functional Mg It is estimated that functional and non-functional Mg
recycling and functional Mg recycling, respectively. This is recycling in automotive industry carried out using the existing
mainly affected by the amount of waste available from ELVs. technologies contributes to the global warming with emissions
It is estimated that total energy consumption and water use for of about 5.62 and 29.66 million tonnes of CO2 eq. in 2050. It is
global Mg recycling in 2050 will reach 0.29 billion GJ and worth noting that if for recycling purposes electricity could be
0.004 Km3, respectively. Also, total energy consumption and generated from renewable energy sources, CO2 emissions from
water use for global casting and molding of secondary Mg will the process could also be reduced [6]. More detailed
reach 1.14 billion GJ and 0.09 Km3 in 2050. calculations show that global Mg recycling will generate 1.79
Non-functional Mg casting and molding in automotive billion tonnes of CO2 eq emissions by 2050.
industry corresponds to 43% of total energy consumption and Casting and molding stage of secondary Mg recycling had
water use for global recycling stage in 2050, followed by non- impact on global warming with about 0.75 and 2.98 million
functional Mg recycling (11%), functional Mg casting and tonnes of CO2 eq. by 2010 for functional and non-functional
molding (7%) and functional Mg recycling (2%). This shows molding and casting and Mg recycling. Due to production
that secondary production of magnesium is much less energy increases, GHG emissions for the same processes will increase
594 SaeedAuthor nameGolroudbary
Rahimpour / Procedia CIRP
et al.00/ Procedia
(2022) 000–000
CIRP 105 (2022) 589–594 6

Fig 7. Global emissions of functional, non-functional and global Mg recycling as well as casting and molding in 2010-2050 from automotive industry.

by 6 and 3.97 times and will reach 4.50 and 23.73 million Clean. Prod., vol. 247, 2020.
tonnes of CO2 eq. by 2050. Global secondary Mg casting and [4] D. Kumar, R. K. Phanden, and L. Thakur, “A review on
molding will generate 1.43 billion tonnes of CO2 eq emissions environment friendly and lightweight Magnesium-Based metal
by 2050. The highest amount of emmisions for both Mg matrix composites and alloys,” Mater. Today Proc., vol. 38, pp.
recycling as well as casting and molding are reported for CH 4, 359–364, 2020.
CO, NOx and SF6, especially in non-functional secondary Mg [5] J. Du, W. Han, and Y. Peng, “Life cycle greenhouse gases, energy
processes. The finding highlights the necessity of improvement and cost assessment of automobiles using magnesium from Chinese
of the current recycling technologies to mitigate the above- Pidgeon process,” J. Clean. Prod., vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 112–119,
mentioned emissions. This finding addresses the targets of 2010.
SDGs 13 − mitigation of climate change. [6] S. Morimoto, Y. Cheng, N. Mizukoshi, and K. Tahara,
“Methodological study of evaluating future lightweight vehicle
4. Conclusion scenarios and co2 reduction based on life cycle assessment,”
Sustain., vol. 12, no. 14, pp. 1–16, 2020.
Considering circular economy principles ̶ reusing and [7] F. Cherubini, M. Raugei, and S. Ulgiati, “LCA of magnesium
recycling rather than discharging materials as waste ̶ we production. Technological overview and worldwide estimation of
analyzed environmental sustainability of magnesium recycling environmental burdens,” Resour. Conserv. Recycl., vol. 52, no. 8–9,
in the automotive industry. Implementation of circular pp. 1093–1100, 2008.
economy strategies contributes to the recovery of significant [8] M. Wang et al., “Summary of Expansions and Updates in
amounts of magnesium reaching up to 0.59 mt of non- GREET®2020,” 2020.
functional Mg and 0.11 mt of functional Mg in 2050. However, [9] A. Gullen and J. Plungis, “Statista,” 2021.
these findings highlight the need to improve magnesium [10] S. Rahimpour Golroudbary, N. Krekhovetckii, M. El Wali, and A.
recycling technologies especially in non-functional casting and Kraslawski, “Environmental Sustainability of Niobium Recycling:
molding. The result shows that 43% of total energy The Case of the Automotive Industry,” Recycling, vol. 4, no. 1, p.
consumption and water use of global Mg recycling stage in 5, Jan. 2019.
2050 corresponds to non-functional casting and molding in the [11] S. R. Golroudbary, M. El Wali, and A. Kraslawski, “Rationality of
automotive industry. Also, we demonstrated that using phosphorus primary and secondary sources in circular
environmental footprint of Mg recycling corresponds mainly to economy: Game-theory-based analysis,” Environ. Sci. Policy, vol.
high-level emissions of CH4, CO, NOx and SF6. It is estimated 106, pp. 166–176, 2020.
that the existing technologies in functional and non-functional [12] S. V. S. Prasad, S. B. Prasad, K. Verma, R. K. Mishra, V. Kumar,
Mg recycling in the automotive industry contribute to the and S. Singh, “The role and significance of Magnesium in modern
global warming with emissions of 5.62 and 29.66 mt of CO 2 day research-A review,” J. Magnes. Alloy., no. xxxx, 2021.
eq. in 2050, respectively. Moreover, the analysis presented in [13] R. E. Brown, “Environmental challenges for the magnesium
this study shows that the functional Mg recycling is negatively industry,” Magnes. Technol., pp. 7–11, 2011.
affected by the lack of established value-added chains for end- [14] B. J. Y. Yam et al., “Journal of Environmental Chemical
of-life magnesium scrap in automotive industry. Engineering Recycling of magnesium waste into magnesium
hydroxide aerogels,” J. Environ. Chem. Eng., vol. 8, no. 5, p.
References 104101, 2020.
[15] M. K. Kulekci, “Magnesium and its alloys applications in
[1] J. A. Ober, “Mineral commodity summaries 2020. Available at automotive industry,” Int. J. Adv. Manuf. Technol., vol. 39, no. 9–
https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2020/mcs2020.pdf,” 2020. 10, pp. 851–865, 2008.
[2] G. A. Blengini et al., Study on the EU’s list of Critical Raw [16] S. Ehrenberger and H. E. Friedrich, “Life-cycle assessment of the
Materials (2020) Final Report. 2020. recycling of magnesium vehicle components,” Jom, vol. 65, no. 10,
[3] Y. Türe and C. Türe, “An assessment of using Aluminum and pp. 1303–1309, 2013.
Magnesium on CO2 emission in European passenger cars,” J.